This post was originally published on the Percona Community blog.
If you are in the world of application development, you know that every application has a lifecycle.
An application lifecycle refers to the stages that our application goes through, from initial planning, building, deployment, monitoring, and maintenance in different environments where our application can be executed.
On the other hand, the Kubernetes Application Lifecycle refers exclusively to applications deployed and managed in Kubernetes clusters. This differs from the normal application lifecycle because Kubernetes introduces new principles, practices, and tools for managing applications on containers.
In this blog post, we will talk about these phases: Day 0, Day 1, and Day 2 in the lifecycle of an application in Kubernetes.
Image 1: Day 0, Day 1 and Day 2 in the Kubernetes Application Lifecycle
Day 0
It refers to the preparation stage before deploying applications in Kubernetes. It’s the stage of identifying goals, planning the infrastructure, and ensuring the development team knows about Kubernetes and best practices. It’s a stage for investment in training. And the evaluation of the application components to determine which are suitable for use within containers and Kubernetes.
Day 1
It is the stage that involves deploying the application in Kubernetes clusters and the creation of Kubernetes resources: deployments, pods, and services. Additionally, it includes configuration management and the implementation of basic monitoring following the decisions made on Day 0.
Day 2
Finally, on Day 2, our application is already running in Kubernetes clusters by reaching this stage. Day 2 refers to the management, monitoring, and optimization of our Kubernetes clusters over the long term.
We’ll explore Day 2 further, the phase where Percona leaps into action with its fully open-source Kubernetes Operators, ensuring no vendor lock-in.
Day 2 involves:
- Gathering information from our Kubernetes clusters through monitoring and logging.
- Scaling our application, either horizontally or vertically.
- Application of security best practices and compliance with policies.
- Establishing backups and recovery processes to protect our data and applications from future disasters.
Day 2, activities focus on sustainability, efficiency, and long-term continuous improvement to ensure the stability of our application and meet customer expectations.
For Percona, a company specializing in the management of open source databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB for more than 17 years, Day 2 refers to the ongoing efforts to ensure that database systems are running efficiently, securely, and in alignment with business objectives.
Here are some examples of how Percona handles this phase:
To achieve Performance Monitoring, if you use Percona Kubernetes Operators, you can integrate it with Percona Monitoring and Management (PMM) to check the performance of your databases in real time. Monitor query execution times, resource utilization, and server health. PMM helps to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies, allowing for timely optimization and tuning.
Image 2: this is what the PMM Dashboard interface looks like when monitoring your database resources.
If we discuss data protection and disaster recovery, using Percona XtraBackup, an open-source backup utility for MySQL-based servers. In that case, you can ensure that your database remains fully accessible during scheduled maintenance periods.
When we talk about enabling you to automate database administration and day-to-day tasks, Percona offers a variety of Kubernetes Operator solutions for different databases, focusing specifically on the requirements of Day 2.
Image 3: Percona Kubernetes Operators Logo
As for scaling strategy and high availability, adopting solutions such as Percona Operator for MySQL based on Percona XtraDB Cluster, this package provides all the tools you need to easily and reliably set up and expand Percona XtraDB Cluster instances in a Kubernetes environment, whether it’s on-site or in the cloud.
These were just some examples of what Percona does for Day 2 to maintain tasks crucial for the business that rely on databases to keep critical applications and services running.
Are you interested in learning more about Kubernetes or need assistance with your cloud-native strategy? With Percona Kubernetes Operators, you can manage database workloads on any supported Kubernetes cluster running in private, public, hybrid, or multi-cloud environments. They are 100% open source, free from vendor lock-in, usage restrictions, and expensive contracts, and include enterprise-ready features by default. Learn more about Percona Kubernetes Operators
If you want to use a cloud native solution, Percona Everest helps you avoid being tied to one vendor, boosts your database’s performance, makes sure your database setup is cost-effective and just the right size, and cuts down on the time and effort needed to manage your database.
